The present invention relates generally to a financial business method, and particularly to a method for providing a credit offering in combination with credit management information services.
In general, banks provide credit cards to individuals wherein the individual is granted a certain limit of credit, for a certain annual fee, to be paid back at a certain annual interest rate. In return, the cardholder agrees to pay accumulated charges and interest according to the terms of the credit card. The exact terms of the credit card offering to an individual depend on the credit rating of the individual. In general, the better an individual's credit rating, the more favorable credit card offer the individual will receive.
As is known, one approach sometimes taken by financial institutions in a credit offering is to offer, for example through a mailing, an individual a pre-approved line of credit, at an inflated interest rate. If the individual does not accept the offer at the inflated interest rate within a predetermined period of time, then a subsequent credit offering may or may not be made at a lower interest rate, or at otherwise more favorable terms.
Once an individual has obtained or established a credit account, regardless of the manner established, the credit account terms generally remain fixed unless the individual takes proactive measures. It is known that individuals may contact a financial institution, with which the individual has a credit account, and request more favorable terms, particularly if the individual has held the account for some time. However, absent proactive measures by the individual, the terms of the account generally remain fixed.
Various commercial services provide credit counseling to individuals for a fee. These commercial services may provide an individual with a credit rating or some other indication of the individual's creditworthiness at that instant in time. However, none of these services or credit card companies provide individuals with complimentary tools for credit management in combination with a credit card account. Additionally, the commercial credit services are limited in that they provide only an indication of the creditworthiness of an individual at an instant in time, rather than on an on-going basis. Finally, the commercial credit services cannot guarantee that the individual will receive better terms as a result of their services.
Therefor there is a need for a method addressing these and other related and unrelated problems.